Stay
by CuteMcBeauty
Summary: After defeating the Wicked Witch, Emma choses to run back to New York, leaving only a note. Henry, however, is adamant to make her stay... So is her family... and so is the handsome, rugged man in black leather, the man she "can't wait to get away from"...
1. Chapter 1

While she packed her final bag into the back of her yellow bug, Emma licked her lower lip. She could feel Henry's stare, glaring through the rear view mirror, burning her inside and out. He didn't want to leave; she didn't want to leave either. But she DID want to leave... or did she?

Now with Zelena's magic gone, it was again safe to wander out of the town; it wasn't like she was moving to Bora Bora, was it? What was the big deal? Anyone of them could go visit her any day! Why was everyone so mad at her? So sad?

Why was she so sad?

"Come on Kid, help your mom with these..." She smiled kindly at her son.

Henry shot his eyes up at her. "No." He shook his head.

Emma returned a wide eyed stare of disbelief. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

"No means no, mom, in ANY language! It's not rocket science, you know!... and I said NO." He spoke harshly. "I don't want to do this! I don't want to be a part of this!"

Emma huffed and her shoulders fell as she walked around the car to her son, looking at him through the window. "Henry, we talked about this..."

"No, YOU talked about this and then said 'I'm your mom and I know best', and that was about all." He shrugged. "Since you're so good and making up for both our minds, I guess you can pretty much load your own luggage into the car without my help."

Emma stared at him in shock. "Now that's pretty rude!"

He shrugged, staring blankly ahead. "I learned from the best."

The blonde woman stood straight and ran a hand through her hair. "Look, I don't have time for this, I..."

"Yeah, it's 'I, I, I', mom, it's all you care about!" He finally shouted, breaking down. "You never asked ME! How do I feel about this?"

"I'm doing this for you!" Emma shouted back. "Not two weeks ago you were trying to run away back to New York!"

"Yeah..." he nodded at her. "Because I had no clue who I was or who my family was. But I know now! I remember!" He sniffed. "You are breaking us all apart mom, because you can't handle being in a place where you know you will be cared for! It's always been about you! It's not about anyone else, it's you and you and..."

"STOP IT!" She shouted back at her son. "You stop that, right now! I know what's best for you!"

"Really? One year being my mom qualifies you enough to know what's best for me?"

"Henry!"

"It's true!" He spat back. "Those years were fake, mom! They were not real! The truth remains! You gave me up and I looked for you two years ago! No hard feelings about that, but really, don't even try to base your argument on you knowing what's best for me, because you are obviously not doing very well right now..."

"We had a great life in New York!" She pleaded. "You had friends! You were doing great in school and we were ok! No flying monsters, no witches, no weird magic crap and no... no..."

"No pirates?" Henry huffed.

"Yeah, no pirates and princes and princesses and..."

Henry shook his head and cried. "You worked so hard mom... so hard to get to find where you belong... Now that you finally have it you want to run away again?"

Emma sighed deep and turned a saddened stare at her son. "This is about you, Henry, not about me."

"No, no, no, don't you dare!" He shook his head at her. "Don't pin this on me! I'm not afraid to give up on New York to be who I really am, who I was all along, no matter how cool New York was!" He jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut behind him. "If you want to go back to being Emma Swan the loner, the miserable lonely woman looking for nothing, be my guest! I wanted my mom here, to be with me HERE! You whole family loves you and wants you here! But you just... " He shook his head and wiped his tears off with his sleeve. "You know what? I'm not coming."

Emma stared back at her son with disbelief and pain. "What?"

"You heard!" He looked at her, tears in his eyes still welling. "Regina's legally my mom and you are also breaking her heart with this, and it's not fair. It's not fair! She gave you those fake memories that you want to go to out of selflessness, but all you can think of is your own fear and your own wishes... You're breaking everyone's hearts, Including mine. So, you know what?" He pulled his back pack from the car. "You go ahead, back to New York, back to video game nights and flying monkey dates. I'm staying with the Evil Queen who is probably crying on my bed by now..." He stared at his dumbstruck mother. "I hope you'll change your mind... Emma. Because I can't stand you breaking us up after all we've gone through... especially not because of your particular reasons for leaving." He shook his head and wept. "I believed in you..."

Emma stared with tears in her eyes as Henry walked away down the road to the bus stop that would lead him to Regina's. She wanted to stop him, but for all practical purposes, he was right: He was legally Regina's son. The dream was over: She had given up and relinquished all her rearing rights to Regina and her past year in New York had been nothing but a kind gesture from her. Nothing more.

She slammed herself on the side of the car. She had to leave, but now she couldn't do it without Henry. She hated the thought of being manipulated by a twelve year old, but even so she also detested the thought of putting him through hell if he was miserable with the idea.

Maybe she was being selfish.

She jumped back into her car and drove over to the bus stop, where Henry sat, miserably sobbing. She lowered the window. " Come on kid, hop in."

"No, I told you, I'm not leaving." He shook his head.

"I was going to Granny's." She smiled, her eyes also reddened from tears. "We could talk about it."

"There's nothing to talk about..."

"Henry, please?" She begged. "We'll work something out, I promise, just... please?"

The boy looked up at his mom and huffed as he stood and walked to the car, peering through the window. "You... won't take off suddenly and speed to the highway to New York holding me hostage?"

Emma chuckled through a smile; sometimes Neal's unnerving wit shone through Henry like the sunshine. "I promise, kiddo, come on. We'll talk, that's all."

Henry nodded and let himself back into the car. They remained silent, although Emma was quietly relieved to be back in control of the otherwise extremely awkward situation.

They pulled up and left the car to the diner that had hosted so many meetings and celebrations. As they pushed the door, the bell announced their presence, and a tableful of people turned to look at them. Emma swallowed hard; There, some crying, some sulking, sat David, Mary Margaret with baby Leo and Regina. One seat was empty and Emma wondered if perhaps HE had just taken his leave.

He...

This was going to be a doozy.


	2. Chapter 2

The brunette Mayor stood and ran to Henry, embracing him hard and tears flowing down her eyes. "Henry... " She whispered into his ear as she caressed his head.

"It's ok, mom..." He hugged her back.

"No... it's not..." Regina stood daringly, staring at Emma. "How could you..."

"Look, I..."

"A note!" Regina hollered. "A goddamned note! Don't you think, that after all we've been through, I deserved at LEAST a one day's notice? AT LEAST? Don't you think I deserve to have some say in what is decided for my son? OUR son?"

Emma swallowed and scorned. "Look, I know it looks bad, but..."

"You'd better be grateful Emma.." Regina gnarled at her. "Be grateful as all hell that I no longer want to do dark magic... Because seriously? I am fighting with everything I have against the urge to rip out your heart, and god knows that without your precious magic, that would be endgame for you..."

Emma remained stoic. Her parents didn't even flinch with Regina's reaction. Mary Margaret simply avoided eye contact with her daughter and David had a fresh batch of tears in his eyes as he gazed at Emma's feet.

Maybe Granny's had been a bad idea.

Henry ran to his family and sat with them, looking over to Emma. "So, you wanted to talk?" He smiled cynically at her. "Well, here's your chance!"

Emma grinned a teary-eyed grin. "You little creep..." She chuckled, as she approached the table. baby Leo made a regurgitating noise and Mary Margaret straightened him up over her shoulder. "Shh shh..."

There was an awkward silence that was uncomfortable for all; she had been so wrong in doing things that way, not as much as a farewell, not even letting her family say goodbye to Henry, not even thanking them for anything... just a note on Mary Margaret's kitchen counter. Emma suddenly realized the magnitude of her actions; she had left like some sixteen year old runaway kid heading for the big city, except she was thirty and a supposedly responsible mother with a serious commission as Sheriff and, well... savior.

She had let them down. All of them. Even the guy who wasn't there and who was probably walking along the docks, his sword eerily sticking out from underneath his heavy leather trench coat, heavy boots pounding on the wooden pier, wondering why she'd left that way or what else he failed at to gain her trust and her affection.

The idea of tears in his eyes made her shudder.

She sat on the empty seat. No one looked at her. This she could handle; coldness, anger... things she was familiar with. Love, affection, caring, when had she ever, ever had that? Then again, when had she ever not longed for it? This was confusing as hell. At least in New York she had a clear mind, she could think and do whatever she wanted and needed, she could go out for walks, date guys, be herself... herself. Then Henry's face came into her mind. He was right; he was always right.

She had thought only of herself.

"Why, Emma...?" Mary Margaret broke the ice with a sobbing tone. "Why would you leave that way?"

Emma sighed and shook her head. "Look, it's not the best way, I know that..." She held both hands open, touching the table and also avoiding eye contact. "...but if I had tried to explain to you, you would all have found a reason to make me stay and I would have felt compelled to stay out of guilt and..."

"Can you think of no one but yourself?" Her mother shouted suddenly, making the baby jump and cry. David immediately took the infant boy from her and stood up to walk around the diner, trying hard to make him go back to his comfort sleep. "Have you any idea how much you hurt us all? Is this what you wanted, Emma?"

Emma hated hurting her; she was her mom, after all, even if she felt more like a best friend, still. And she still looked weakened and slightly round after her heavy pregnancy with her little brother. But all the same, she had to fight back and stand her ground. She had to. It was her last line of defense against that which she knew didn't exist.

Truth of the matter was that she knew nothing at all anymore.

"Look, with Zelena's curse down, you can all come to visit me whenever you want!" She shrugged. "It's not like it's the other side of the planet!"

"That's not the point!" David snapped from the middle of the room. "It's the fact that you WANT to leave your family behind, Emma!" He sat back down and continued. "I remember when Pan cast his curse, how you argued you wanted to stay with us, how you hated to leave and have these fake memories implanted in you... " he shook his head side to side. "What the hell changed you so much, Emma? What is it you're really afraid of?"

She heard him in her head... and not him, her father... but him, the man who had said that to her, almost word for word, two weeks earlier. He was her very own Jiminy Cricket. Only he wasn't Dr. Hopper... he was actually a pirate. Old school pirate. How pathetic could she have gotten, where a pirate probably made better sense and had a far more mature point of view than she did?

She hated her life at that moment; she really did.

"I just... want Henry to grow somewhere where there are no... crazy green bitches flying around in brooms, or where people don't literally get their hearts ripped out and crushed!" She sighed. "Since I got here, I've slain a dragon, I've travelled to an enchanted forest, run from an ogre, used true love's kiss and eaten chimera!" She shrugged. "Henry does NOT belong in that! I don't belong in that!"

"No... that's not it." Regina chimed in, coldly and seriously. "You fear something else."

"Oh yeah!" Emma snapped at Regina. "I forgot to mention sleeping spells and time-space vortex curses!" She looked at Henry and grinned. "We had such a good life in New York..."

"A fake life." Henry added. "You asked me to believe mom... what for? To drag me back to a world that I know isn't where I belong?"

"We did belong!" She begged. "I had a great job! You had loads and loads of friends, the girl next door, you remember her? You had such a crush on her!" She looked pleadingly to all of them. "And there were no weird purple curses or monsters!"

"Nah, only Walsh, the monkey man you were dating!"

"Well... I didn't know he was a monkey!" She excused herself.

Regina chuckled an ironic laugh. "Oh, so ignorance was bliss, then, wasn't it?"

"Oh, so I guess that makes it ok, then, to marry the guy!" Henry huffed. " Thank god for Hook, otherwise my baby brothers or sisters would have been born with tails and a lot of body hair!"

Emma closed her eyes. The mention of his odd nick name made her shiver again. What would she do if he were sitting there, a member of the jury?

Mary Margaret sniffed and looked at her, shaking her head. "You are our daughter, Emma..." She spoke softly. "I held you... when you were just the same size as your brother... t may seem strange to you now, we may look the same age and we may not have that mandatory generation gap between us, but... I am still your mom." She sobbed. "There is not a day that passes that I don't wonder what you looked like on your fifth birthday... not a day goes by when I don't wonder how beautiful you would have looked in a debutante's ball gown, or which prince or suitor would have been the one to steal your heart. I hate the fact that your survival depended on your father and I having to let you go, when we had only held you in our arms for less than a minute! I hate thinking of how lonely and sad you must have felt all those years, all by yourself, giving up your baby like I did... I hate thinking that all this... selfishness, all this fear, stems form that resentment, Emma, I am sorry! We both are! But, honey..." She reached a trembling hand forward. "We are here now. NOW! Why run away like this?" She sobbed again. "Why hurt us all like this?"

Emma sighed and hid her face behind her hands. "I never meant to... I swear that I... I..."

"And let me tell you..." David sat back down and handed the now calm baby back to his sobbing wife. "I may not be much of a keen supporter of his crush, but I swear I've never seen a man break the way I saw Killian fall apart this morning... You hit us all right in the feels, Emma."

And bang, there it was. That name... She remembered his face, cold and breathless, after Zelena (or Rumple, rather) had drowned him in the well. She remembered her heart racing when after she tried breathing life into him, he didn't react... how she hoped, prayed that he'd come back to her, how the idea of him dying then and there terrified her... God knew why. And she knew why, too.

And that knowledge, she knew, was more than enough a prompt to make her leave. It was just too... much. Too much for her.

She sighed and shook her head. She then looked up at Henry. "Do you really want to stay, Kiddo?"

Henry pressed his lips tight. "I want ALL of us to stay... or all of us to go. But together. Please..." He reached out and grabbed her hands. "Don't break us apart, mom..."

Everyone around the table addressed equally pleading gazes at her. They were right, all of them. But her heart had once again started to pound like that afternoon by the well.

With tears finally welling in her eyes, she drew a deep sigh and smiled. "You're right. As always... you little... jerk." She smiled at her son and reached out to ruffle his hair. She then turned to Regina. "I owe you the biggest apology ever..."

Regina sighed and looked at her through deep, shiny brown eyes. "I suppose I can let it pass... this once." She grinned a friendly grin. "But Emma... if I can put years of hatred and vengeance to be with my... family..." She turned a friendly grin to snow and Charming, who returned the smile. "... If I of all people managed to make white magic to defeat Zelena and found a friend in the most unlikely woman..." She reached and grabbed both Snow's and Emma's hands. "I'm sure you can handle a little... affection."

Emma paled. "I don't know what you're..."

"Yes you do!" Regina barked back. "Now you know as well as we all do that if you had gone to New York, you'd have wept and pined for that guy more than you're willing to admit, so I suggest you find the poor bastard and apologize to him as well."

Emma looked at everyone, wide-eyed. No one, not even Henry, rebuked Regina. They all grinned at her... and Henry even winked.

She shook her head and grinned. "This is mutiny..." She huffed. "David, you think you could... take my car home and get the bags out? Henry, help him out... please?"


	3. Chapter 3

She really did expect him to be wandering around the docks, perhaps longing to find solace from her departure... nah. He just missed his ship! He wouldn't sulk for too long, not a guy like him and not for a gal like her... besides, what is a sea captain without a ship?

What is a heart without someone to hold it, love it, keep it?

However, it was not easy to find him. Emma walked for at least fifteen minutes along the concrete and wooden docks before she found a trace of his. His flask of rum, floating in the water.

"Oh no..." She panted, immediately thinking the worst. She went down on her knees and searched for a sign of him, a hand, a hook, a floating trench coat... something... anything. "HOOK!" She shouted into the dock's waterline. She must have shouted at least five times, first, Hook, then Killian. With all that leather and those boots and that sword... he was likely to plummet into the depths like a ton of bricks.

Something odd seemed to take over her; She stood and began to remove her clothing, preparing for a dive to search for her sunken pirate:, her jacket, her shoes, her socks...

"Swan?" Came a whisper from behind.

She stopped cold and turned seconds before she had pulled her blouse over her head. She flushed and tucked it down immediately, staring wide-eyed at the pirate. She would have had his head; normally when she was flustered, that's what she did: Kick him around a little. She trusted him enough to know that despite her foul temper tantrums, he'd scowl and groan... but wouldn't leave her, which made the thought of him having jumped all the scarier... the one loyal follower she had! And as always, there he stood. His eyes were bloodshot red from crying and the overall expression in his face was so downright heartbreaking that whatever snarky comment she may have had was instantly disarmed.

"What... in blazers ... are you doing?" he frowned, his voice still broken and somewhat taken aback by her sudden stripping.

Emma shook her head, wide-mouthed. If anyone had that effect on her, it was Killian. No other guy could see through her the way he usually did and that always made her feel extremely vulnerable around him: Vulnerable, naked and at home; very much at home, too much at home, perhaps. And she knew that when you find a home it's usually the time to move to another place. That's how the foster system always worked; one could never get too comfortable before you had to be back on your toes. Never become attached; never cry too much over a place, a home or a heart.

What made this any different?

"I... " she felt herself speak. "I thought you had... jumped..."

"What gave you that notion, love?"

She shook her head. "Your flask is floating around and since you never part with it, I though..."

He grinned. "Nay, love, I'm not quite there; not yet..." He sniffed.

She grinned back. There was little else she could do.

"You never even said goodbye..." he uttered ever so softly, so sadly... and it nearly tore her apart.

She shook her head. "I'm no good at those."

"Who is?" He paced to her. "But it's only common courtesy, Swan, when it comes to the people you care about, unless of course, you don't care... which, I know you do... so..." he now stood only a few feet away from her before stopping his stride. "What prompted you to act so rudely to your family? Hm?"

She knew the answer to that: It was him. Easy enough. But how would he ever understand it?

"You're quite the smooth talker, Killian, but not this time." She folded her arms before her, sheltering, defending herself from the attack she knew he would never dare forward, the attack that existed only in her mind. "I knew that as soon as you got a chance, you'd try to talk me into staying. You did talk me into coming here, into drinking that potion, into remembering... you totally wrecked my beautiful, beautiful memories and..."

He turned to the waterfront and rubbed his stubble. "Oh, we're back to that now..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look, Emma..." he held a hand out open, almost as if he wanted out of this discussion, out of her life. Out of her heart. "I've been around for more than just a while and I can tell you, I've seen my fair share of family feuding, but I had never seen any woman be so Machiavellianly cold to her own kin."

"You were best buds with Cora, come on." She shot back. "Wasn't she, like you said, 'Mother of the year'?"

"Aye, Emma, but she was a villain and you are all but that!" He snapped back. "None of us expected you to..." He shook his head and swallowed his words before drawing a deep sigh that would quench the fresh batch of tears knotting in his throat. "Why did you come back?"

She noticed his containment. She noticed everything about him. She knew every flinch, every wink and every frown, what they meant, why he did them and what they would do to her.

Emma shook her head and pressed her lips together. "Henry. He hated me for a while back there."

"Wait..." Killian sneered as he shook his head, trying to grasp an impossible concept. "The lad didn't... know? You just grabbed him and tossed him in the vehicle and... took off?" He stared at her and no longer tried to conceal the fact that his eyes had tears in them. "Swan, what happened to you?"

She looked at him through a curtain of fire, again feeling naked, angered and vulnerable, like that bull's-eye target at Granny's. She hated him because he was right. She loved him because he was right. She was shaking at the knees and hating herself for his agony but also felt unwilling to remain there. Or maybe she was far too willing and that was precisely what freaked the bejesus out of her.

"What happened?" She shook her head. "YOU happened! You come to me, ALL the time, patronizing me, lecturing and telling me what I should and should not do, Killian, it can make anybody mad!"

"Ah, well, maybe that's because I'm probably the only bleeder in this soddin' town that can see through and through your bloody heart, Emma!" He barked back and paced closer to her. "And I am also the only other man in your life aside from Henry that really has no quiff or compunction to tell it like it is! To your face!" he shook his head. "It's no secret, Emma, that I'm raving mad for you, you know it! But despite that, love, I can´t just pretend that this didn't happen! I may not be his biggest fan, but the look of disappointment on your father's face could have ravaged through the skin of a whale! The hurt, on Mary Margaret! Emma, this is not you, I know it!" His speech had turned to a plea. "If you are to leave this town because of me, love, then by all means, I won't stop you. It will break my heart, yes... but if being away from me is what makes you happy, I will endorse your joy and even pack your bags myself. But for all that is holy, love... Don't hurt your family..."

He had her there... As always. God she hated him... she loved him.

"You know nothing about family, Killian." She attacked. Time to kick him around in self-defense, as she always did.

The kick seemed to work; he looked stung. "Aye, love... you're right." He nodded before returning that ever-so-blue-as-the ocean gaze at her, made even bluer now by the tears that wavered menacingly close to falling from them. "... but you know... I wanted to learn. Learn all about it; with you."

That caught her and froze her to stone. He continued.

"Aye, love... you heard right. That morning, when your mother birthed your younger brother and we rescued the babe from Zelena's curse, I watched you all. I saw the babe in her arms and for a brief minute I wondered what it would be like to hold one of my own... For a few seconds, I imagined myself in David's place and you in Mary Margaret's and I swear, Emma, for the briefest instant, but for the blink of an eye,I was the merriest man alive before once again coming to realization that this was not my moment, not my love and not my child ... Yes, Swan, believe it or not, I am capable of feeling that way. I am not the bloody pirate you all seem to think I am any more... I can't be. I tried... but I can't..." his voice was barely a whisper now. "This is end game, Emma. I've laid me best deck of cards on the table for you. I got none left to wager now. The game is yours... If you leave, I will hold you to it, I will respect it and leave you to your happiness, but believe me..." he paced to her. "...as long as you keep running from yourself, you won't find any joy. I, at least, know what I want and who I want it with. Give it a thought, darling. And if you decide to leave anyway, please, at least have the good form of saying farewell to this... this..." he finally wept and it crushed her to bits. "...this wayward man who once lost his way to piracy and mended his life through the path of your light."

He walked away sniffing and she remained standing solid. He had turned her to solid stone with his words.

She loved him. She knew that much. And it scared her to thing that that would ever break, shatter to the point that it had shattered him, or worse: killed him. Neil had died in her arms... so had Graham. And a few weeks later, he had almost joined that merry club of Romeos. That was scary enough, but could a man, any man, love her enough to see her holding his children in his mind? She had heard of that particular expression but hadn't quite allowed it to mean anything more than just a petulant expression of corny, fluffy romance books. But apparently, some men did feel that way and one particular fella seemed to fit that bill In her life.

He had seen his unborn son or daughter in her arms in his mind... And for a brief second, she wondered whether it would be a boy or a girl... eyes blue or green? Blonde? Brunette?

She had been right. Not leaving was a doozy.

What then, would happen if she remained?


	4. Chapter 4

It took her family roughly a week to talk to her normally again. Emma tried to butter everything, get on their best side and simply be there. She knew they were home. They had never been the problem... Killian was right, her family was not to blame for her Hook-a-phobia.

It wasn't really a phobia... That entire week of condoning her, he had managed to disappear. People she asked claimed to have seen him here and there, some say pacing, some say peering through store casings with curiosity and others said they simply saw him walk by.

He said "Give it a thought, darling"... and he knew her well enough to give her enough space to actually think about it. And she was. And she hated him... but she didn't hate him. She couldn't hate him. How infuriating was that?

Henry was the first to talk to her again after she coaxed him for a mom-son night out with pizza and... well, whatever else they could find in a place like Storybrooke. Henry didn't take long to agree; he had been the one to coax her into getting to Storybrooke first and he knew firsthand how hard it was to crack through the Emma Swan denial wall.

There was another team mate now in desperate need of assistance to coax her into staying put, he knew that much. There would always be need for her in Storybrooke, magic or no magic. She was the Savior.

"So..." He chewed on his pizza as they sat by the sidewalk. "Given up on going back to New York yet?"

Emma grinned. "Still thinking about it kid, I won't lie to you."

Henry shook his head. "And just exactly what is wrong with Storybrooke?"

_There's a gorgeous guy who's devoted to me in heart and soul and who wants me to have his children, that's what... _

"It's not a matter of anything being wrong with Storybrooke, kid, it's just that..." She shrugged. "I don't know, we had a good life over there, didn't we?" She nudged him. "Don't you miss it?"

"I did..." He nodded and took another bite. "Till I remembered it wasn't real."

Emma huffed and tucked her hands in her fringe. "And remind me to post a thank you note to Hook for that..."

"Actually..." He spoke, still chewing. "...there are quite a few ways I could think of for us to thank him..."

She turned suddenly to Henry. "What?"

"Well..." He swallowed and turned to her. "He did look after me numerous times and I gotta say, mom, he was a TON of fun to hang out with!" He giggled. "Who else in the world teaches a kid to use loaded dice?"

Emma sneered. "A Pirate..."

"Yeah! And soooo awsome!" He took another bite. "I can use a sextant now! Measure knots versus thrust, make a good sailor's knot to tie the top sails, tell north from south and turn the helm port and starboard without even running the engine! I can sail a boat like he does, the old fashioned way, with no high tech GPS crap." He sighed. " Like my dad."

That last phrase was tinged with sadness and he ducked his head a little. Emma turned to him and placed a hand behind his back. "I wish you could have at least been able to say goodbye to him..."

"Was it painful?" He turned to her.

"No... not really." She shrugged. "He just sort of... wound down." She grinned. "He died a hero, Henry..."

"Killian's a hero... "

Could she ever, ever find solace from that name, that heinous, cursed, mellow, beautiful, melodious name?

She grinned. "I think you idolize him a little too much because he has a hook for a hand and speaks like something taken out of a Dickens' book, Henry."

He squinted his eyes at her. "Come on, mom. Really?" He shook his head. "Look at me and tell me you don't admit that he's a hero... He crossed realms to find us! Heck, you didn't see him when the monkeys attacked us!"

She frowned at her son. "No, I came in just when he had run out of ammo to defend you and I was the one who..."

"He told me to run and not turn around... NO MATTER what I heard!" Henry shook his head. "Basically, told me to leave even if a monkey grabbed and gutted him!" He sighed. "He's not as bad as you make him out to be."

She shook her head. "I never said he was bad."

"Well, why do you keep thinking of him as a pirate?" Henry quipped. "I haven't seen the Jolly Roger around, have you? And what is a pirate without a ship?"

Emma furrowed her brow. "Good point kid... where IS that thing?"

Henry did a funny little eyebrow game and smiled a smile that was so Neal-like it was both painful and beautiful. "Now there's the golden goose. Doesn't take a genius, mom: He got rid of it somehow, to find us in New York."

Emma continued to stare at her son in bewilderment and wondering if indeed Captain Hook, the terror of the seven realms, the cutthroat pirate, the one handed buccaneer she knew loved his ship more than anything in the world, had actually gone as far as that for her. She knew he had. She knew he would. And even though her fear was fanned, her heart rate sped up with the thought.

"We'll have to ask him..." She pressed her lips together. "If I find him..."

"I know where he is..."

She looked at him again. "Really?" He nodded, sipping from a cardboard glass of coke.

"So?"

He turned to her and cocked his head to the side. "Where he always goes for peace and quiet... with the young boy he nearly raised as his own." Henry grinned.

Emma studied Henry, her eyes going all over his freckled face as her wrinkled brow popped to visibility.

"He's... at your dad's grave?"

"Yup. Spends a lot of time there... I think he really cared for him." Henry wrinkled his nose. "It's a good thing he didn't officially like, adopt my dad... or he'd be like... my grand dad."

"He did sort of have a thing with your grandmother, though..." Emma rubbed her arms.

Henry laughed. "Not a problem. Three hundred years back, mom. Ancient history."

"What do you mean, 'not a problem'? Not a problem for what?"

Henry turned to his mom with a look that screamed 'oh, please' all over it before turning back to his coke.

"Henry! We don't... I don't..."

"Mom, seriously?" He huffed. "You honest to god think no one notices his swooning face and your desperate attempts to make us all believe you don't give a damn? Come on!"

Just like Hook, she thought. Touché.

She sighed. "But still, we don't have a thing going, mister, now stop pushing the issue!"

"Well, you should be the one pushing the issue here mom. Guy's crazy for you."

"Yeah... that he is..." She surprised herself by that particular phrasing that was so trademark Killian.

"He's a good looking guy..."

"So what if he's a good looking guy? He's a p..."

"Pirate?" Henry cut in. "Nope. We agreed on that already, didn't we? No Jolly Roger, no Captain Hook. Just plain old Captain Jones now..."

"Henry, what are you trying to..."

"Oh just..." He shrugged. "Speculating, that's all." He looked at her. "It's cool. I mean, you and him. I don't mind."

He returned to his pizza before Emma's shocked (terrified) and bewildered face. She was flat out of words. Like Killian had said, only he and Henry seemed to see so damn clean through her. With Henry it was sort of ok, he was a child and her son. But Killian? Why? How? what if he left? What if he hurt her? What if...

"Look, mom..." Henry added. "Not every guy is going to be a complete waste of space and oxygen, you know? Look and my grandpa. He's ok, isn't he? Besides..." He side-grinned. "He's looking for a home and YOU are looking for a home. It's practically perfect."

There was something in the way Henry had said that final phrase that should have sent Emma running to the highest hilltop... but it didn't. She liked it. She felt it close to her heart and a sudden urge to find the saddened captain suddenly invaded her.

"You know what?" She grinned. "You are too much of a wiseass for your years..."

He grinned back at her. "Again... learned from the best."

Emma laughed and hugged him. "Then I'm not too sure letting you too close to Killian would be a good idea, you'll grow to be the cheekiest little creep in town."

He returned the hug. "Maybe... but I'd have a dad again. A cool dad. With a hook." He raised his shoulders excitedly. "You tell me how many kids will EVER like, be able to say their father used to be Captain Hook?"

Emma laughed and bit her lower lip, before standing up. "Go on, finish up..." She dusted her jeans. "I'm leaving you at Regina's"

Henry frowned before smiling a very sassy grin. "Operation Captain Cobra Swan is on?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Easy, killer. Just do as you're told."


	5. Chapter 5

Storybrooke was probably the only place she knew of that offered security while walking through a woodland at night... well, safety not including curses and the now extinct flying monkeys and stuff of the sort. New York had far many more threats in that sense.

Even a flying monkey had caught up with her in New York!

She reached the spot in the woods where the small, peaceful grave of Neal Cassidy, originally known as Baelfire, sat still and quiet, white and beautiful. Indeed the most peaceful spot in the town. Emma peeked from behind a tree and watched Killian in silence. His face was drawn but calm and he seemed to be talking under his breath... to Bae, perhaps?

She hated eavesdropping but... actually, no, she really enjoyed eavesdropping, a talent she had perfected as a bail bonds person in her previous life. She listened intently and managed to hear some of the things Hook spoke as he touched the white marble stone with Neal's name on it. "I'll do good by you and your family mate... If she'll have me... I won't let you down. I'll be more than what anyone has ever expected of me... You have my solemn word, Bae..."

Emma closed her eyes, her heart racing. The man meant business.

She emerged from behind the tree and cleared her throat loudly. Killian turned swiftly and blushed ever so slightly. "Swan?" He grimaced. " How long have you...?"

"I just got here..." She lied, grinning as she paced towards the grave. "Came to pay my respects."

Killian nodded with a grin. "Where's the lad?"

Emma sighed, a steamy line leaving her nose as she tucked her hands in her jacket pockets. "At Regina's."

Killian chuckled. "She's talking to you again, is she?"

Emma closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. "Yep. Apparently forgiving comes with the whole "becoming a hero" deal." She smiled and chuckled. "She did tell me she wanted to rip out my heart last week..."

"Aye, well..." He grinned back. "Didn't we all."

They shared a very uncomfortable yet extremely comfortable silence. All that contrast was starting to give Emma whiplash.

"Listen, I..." They both started.

They both laughed.

"Go ahead, love." Hook grinned.

"No, please." She grinned back.

"Ladies first..."

Emma wanted to avoid looking into his eyes but the blueness in them drew her gaze like a magnet. "Your flask... why did you throw it away?"

Killian smiled and looked around him, sighed deep and scratched behind his ear. "The morning of your departure, your father called Regina and I on a meeting. I had no clue I was going to be informed of your desertion, not in such way, anyway. Regina went ballistic, but I simply couldn't even breathe. I don't normally make a scene in public, Emma, but honestly, this time, I could not help it. I stood and left, cried my way to the dockland and thought of a way to make the pain stop. I swear..." He giggled, visibly embarrassed. "I practically forgot I'm a grown man, Swan, glad you didn't witness that. So... I reached the bay and wondered whether or not I should take one of those boats and just... leave myself. Just take off, like you had. See this realm and all its wonders, alone." He looked up into her eyes. "I had nothing left in here for me, anyway. So I sat and pondered whether or not it was in good form... but then I thought of you, love, and what you'd probably ask of me." He grinned again. "And I realized that there was a new babe in town... your brother. I knew then I had to stay, if only to serve as a protector, just... remain and help. The voice in my head... your voice, asked it of me. I thought I would toast to that, so I took my flask, toasted, swung back and took my last gulp. I figured since I'd be volunteering to become a personal protector for the child, I'd have to be sober... so I just..." He shrugged. "Tossed it away."

To say Captain Hook was to say Rum Flask, all in the same sentence. Emma was profoundly shocked.

"So..." She grinned. "You've been sober for a week?"

"Aye." He grinned back.

Emma stepped closer to him. "You'd do all that? Really?

He chuckled and shook his head. "Emma, Emma... why do you keep asking me that?" He looked back up to her, one eyebrow raised. "Have I not shown you enough that I am a man who plays in good form?"

Emma smiled and looked down. "I still remember the pirate Hook..." She looked back up at him. "And I won't lie; I kind of... miss that part of you... sometimes."

He smiled back and bit his tongue mischievously as he approached her, his flirty old self. "Oh, he's still in there somewhere... All one has to do is knock on that particular door."

Emma's heart raced. She didn't want this, although she wanted it. God, she wanted it bad! She swallowed hard and looked up into his eyes. "Why me.. Killian?" She shook her head. "I really don't get it. Why me?"

He shrugged. "Why not you?"

"I'm serious."

"So am I." He whispered, stepping even closer. "And as for my motives? Well, Swan, aside from the fact that you look like the sun itself and that your smile practically makes me melt... I'd have to say it's because you showed me that I had hope..." He grinned. "Despite your standoffish behavior, you are probably the only person who saw something in me that even I had lost sight of. You always gave ma second chance, even when you didn't want to. You believed in me... so I believe in you too. Love, you made me a better man, in every sense..." He grinned and touched her chin with his index finger, making her shudder, ever so discreetly. "You are the savior, Emma. Not just of this town and your family... but mine." He sighed. "That's plenty enough reason to love you, I can tell you."

If Emma had to draw a list of complements from Killian's words, she'd probably never finish. It wasn't just the words: It was the look in his eyes, his proximity, the pulse visible on his neck, the feel of his finger on her chin, the soft spoken tone of his voice, without a hint of sarcasm, smugness or sexual desire... just a lot of love.

Love. That was all. She was terrified of it. She'd been in love before, but this was a whole new brand of it. Never before had she felt so overwhelmed with thoughts, ideas, fears, colors... and even desires... just too much. And her body reacted as a reflex, taking a step back.

Killian frowned and took a step forward. Emma's knees were damn near rattling.

"Now, now, Swan..." He flirted with a grin and a raised left eyebrow. "None of that now..."

" I... can't..." She shook her head, her eyes finally registering the true nature of her thoughts.

Killian continued to push forward as she slowly walked back. "And why is that, my love?" He whispered, narrow-eyed. "Is this why you can handle Hook the Scoundrel but not Killian, the man?" Emma gulped as he continued to come closer. "It's easy to shoot down some rapscallion with a forked tongue... but not easy to turn away from someone who is very much standing in front of you, telling you, heart in hand..." He reached out and grabbed her hand suddenly. "... that he loves you, isn't it? A man who wants the same things you long for... A home, a life... a happy ending."

She tried (not really too hard) to pull her hand away. He grabbed hard and placed her hand on his chest, pressing her with his own. Emma's entire body quivered.

"Killian..." She whispered, closing her eyes and feeling a lonely tear leave her eye.

"Yes, my love?" He whispered back, his eyes intently fixed on hers, determined, true.

"I... can't handle it..." She mumbled.

He chuckled. "I thought you said I was the one who couldn't..."

She finally opened her eyes and her gaze met his. The feeling of fear slowly began to be replaced by desire, emotional, sexual and mental. She could lose herself in his eyes, so deep and blue. And by then he was mere inches from her face.

He reached up with his left hand and cupped her cheek , wiping the tear track away with his ringed thumb, and whispered. "Of all the people in this world and any of the other realms, Emma... I am the one you should fear the least... because I am the one who loves you most, my darling. Please..." He grinned. "Don't ever leave. Stay with me. I can do this, love, I can be your happiness... much as you are mine." A small faint shadow of a grin crossed her lips. "Take a leap of faith, love..."

For some reason, Emma suddenly felt her heart synchronize with his. Her chest was pressed hard against his and her hand was touching the area where his heart would sit. She felt it pounding fast and reasoned he was probably just as scared as she was... but he wasn't running. He was here.

Here, with her.

She looked at his lips, parted and moist, longing and hopeful... and the need to join them with hers was getting much too hard to fight against. She had lost the will to fight, actually. No... she hadn't "lost the will"... she simply no longer wanted to fight it. There was no reason to. His body against hers felt warm, soothing, her fears dissipating slowly as she melted into the whole overlapping sensation of him.

She felt her hand move up from his chest, feeling his every hair follicle as she slid it upward to the back of his neck, touching his ear with her thumb. He froze and waited as she studied his face, and her other hand gently rose, her fingers gingerly touching his lips. They responded automatically, a gentle kiss placed on her fingertips as she felt the wrinkled texture of them. She then moved to touch his cheek, feeling the rough contrast from soft, fleshy and warm to fresh and raspy from the stubble of his partially grown beard.

There was no questioning how beautiful he was to behold... and how badly she wanted to claim him as her own in every sense. Silently, she leaned forward as his eyes slowly closed in unison with hers and their lips met, not like they had in Neverland, but a soft graze, a touch, promising and gentle. Killian drew a deep breath as his hand travelled to her neck, his lips probing hers, and he released that breath with a shudder as he pulled her to him. He wanted so badly to explore the depth of that kiss, the warmth and the beauty of it; he tasted her upper lip with the tip of his tongue and felt a sudden shift in Emma's energy: A soft moan escaped the back of her throat as she mirrored his action and he too, shifted gears. A surge of energy flooded them, the kiss turning from curiosity to wanton desire. His arousal became evident as she pressed herself to him and it didn't help her too much: They were standing before Neal's grave and were both in the middle of the woodland. Their own heat shielded them from the cold of the forest and they refused to let go of it.

Making out had always been easy... but this was not just easy, but natural. Emma felt like she could remain there, her lips pressed against his and her body perfectly fitting in his own, forever.

The fear had been replaced for the need to have him. All of him.

Frustration... breaking up the kiss, the trail of both their breaths feeling the gap between them.

"I love you..." She felt herself say, eyes closed and barely whispering . Felt herself. She hadn't wanted to say it, at least not consciously. Or maybe she had all along.

Killian grinned and released a shuddering breath. "You have no idea... how long I've waited to hear you say that, Emma..." He whispered back, pecking her lips repeatedly between his words. "I love you so much..." when she pulled away from him to meet his gaze, she couldn't help grin to him in return.

"We're a fine pair, me and you..." She side-smiled.

"That we are, my love... that we are..." He felt hand and hook find their way to her waist.

"I got you going, didn't I?" She squinted her eyes and wrinkled her nose, playfully.

He laughed. "Aye, you did, love, and I won't be apologizing for it, either."

"Good." She nodded.

"Is it?"

"Yeah... in fact..." She bit her lower lip and the signal drove Killian to near madness. "Maybe we can take this elsewhere..."

"Now?"

"YES, now!" She laughed.

Killian laughed and huffed, running his hand through his hair. He turned to Bae's grave and smiled. "Sorry mate. The lady insists..."

...

His lodging at Granny's was austere; and he would not have had it any other way. The man was a one - handed sailor who needed little more than a place to wash and a bed to sleep in. The window had a view of the diner's roof and ventilation duct and was far from romantic.

But she didn't care. She lay on her side, with his body behind hers, holding her, caressing her and breathing , breathing ever so warmly. His left arm was wrapped around her and she had seen, for the first time, the ending of his wrist, a scarred stump, smooth to the touch and (apparently) a bit of a turn on for her new love. It didn't feel awkward to have it gently pressed against her stomach, under her arm, gently pulling her against his own chest. He leaned his head on his good hand, clad with rings, the only accessory on his body that had remained unshed. The position allowed him access to kissing her blonde-clad head and her left shoulder, her neck, her ear... Heaven. Like holding an angel. She fit there, perfectly, like a missing piece to a puzzle.

Nothing, absolutely nothing had ever felt so good, so soothing, so comforting. Making love had never been so gratifying for either one of them.

True lovemaking for true love.

She sighed deep and he smiled. "You think too loudly, Swan..." He spoke jokingly into her ear.

"You must have quite a sense of hearing, where I'm not thinking anything at all..."

"Oh, you're thinking..." He spoke playfully, in a voice too high pitched for his own natural depth of sound. ".. and quite mischievously, might I add..."

"Damn you Jones... " She laughed softly. "What is it I'm thinking, then?"

He kissed her ear gently. "You're thinking... you want to stay. You're thinking that not a million Frigate Vessels with full sails deployed would pull you from me now..."

Ahh, that maritime slang!

She turned and lay on her back, looking into his eyes with a sigh. What utter contentment.

She touched the hair on his chest with her right hand. "I finally figured it out."

"Figured what out, m'love?"

M'love. It made Emma smile, the way he spoke, so sultry, so British... even if he wasn't British, or even earthly at that. She had always liked that. A complete gentleman. She loved him so much... so, so much.

"I was looking for home and never really came to realize... I wasn't going to find it anywhere... "

"Exactly..."

"Home is where the heart is." She licked her lips.

Killian grinned and kissed her forehead. "And where is that wayward little heart of yours now, Emma Swan?" He spoke, his lips pressed against the soft skin of her brow.

She closed her eyes and touched his shoulder, feeling the scarring tissue that seemed to line several parts of his body. Three hundred years of swashbuckling could do that to a man, it seemed, and yet here he was now, scared but loved... so, so loved. She then moved her hand to the place where his heart sat. "Right... here..." She said. "Home is you... Captain Jones."

He chuckled and once again looked at her with contentment. "Glad you finally came to your senses, my sweet."

She said nothing, simply grinned and allowed him to hold her close.

Words were far from necessary any more. Just the soft embrace, the warmth and the love.

Above all, the love.

A sudden physical feeling pulled her from her soothing state. She frowned with a grin and bit her lip. "Hook..."

"Yes?"

She turned playful eyes to him. "Is that... the jabbing of your sword?" She smiled. "Because I can feel it."

That brought a loud laugh from him. "And here I had thought you hadn't understood that!" He bit his lower lip and nodded. "Aye, Emma, indeed it is. I do prefer activities with a fine woman on her back, you know..."

She positioned herself strategically under his body and he responded without prompting. "Well, then, let's have it!" She smiled.

"As you wish, my lady..." He whispered into her neck, ready to take her once more. "I love you..."

And then once more, and once more and hopefully over and over for the rest of his life.

And hell, did he have plans!


	6. Chapter 6

It was an odd feeling... Very, very odd. And yet, so replenishing and scary and wonderful and weird and everything that was both good and terrifying in the world. She herself was amiss as to how pretty she really was, always gazing in the mirror to apply that final layer of eyeliner and mascara, to settle the oddly sticking out strand of hair that simply refused to settle, to clean off makeup and lipstick smears or to adjust a dress before heading out the door; the usual reflection would be this blonde, rather average woman barely reaching her thirtieth year of life.

This time, staring back at her was a bride.

This could not be her... could it? Was she always such a glorious-looking creature? Or maybe it was the dress, not the ball gown she would have worn had she grown in the enchanted forest, but a finely embroidered, straight gown in white... all white. Her hair hanging down loose with a few flowers carefully netted and weaved amidst her golden blonde locks. A real, bona fide bride.

Still, the promise of what the dress represented managed to draw a smile to her face.

"Mom, Oh My God!" Henry quipped from the door.

Emma caught his face in the reflection and his huge, open-lipped smile unavoidably provoked a big, toothy grin on her own. She turned and looked at him. "So, what do you think Kiddo? Huh? Not too bad, now, is it?"

Henry walked to her. "You look... amazing!" He circled around her. "Seriously! I can't even..."

She sighed deep and bent her knees to his eye level. "Do you think he'll like it?". She wrinkled her nose playfully.

"Mom!" The boy laughed. "You'll give the guy a heart attack!"

Emma smiled and felt herself blush as she stood straight. She drew a deep breath and tilted her head to the side. "This is forever kid..." She grinned. "Are you sure you're ok with this?"

Henry shook his head. "Emma, for god's sake!" He laughed. "Seriously, whether it's in my make belief or real memories, I don't think I have ever, EVER seen you as happy as you've been since you two kicked this off!" He hugged her suddenly. "We'll do ok! Besides, he's probably the coolest guy in this town. All kids will wish they were me, what is there not to like?"

"Yeah, well don't let your grandfather hear you say that or he'll try teaching you how to fly a plane next..." She chuckled.

"Too late." Came David's voice from the door. He was leaning against the door frame and was grinning proudly. "You look like... a princess."

Emma smiled. "Hate to admit it, but I feel like one."

David smiled as he walked to her. "We're all set, Emma..." He held out his arm. "Ready when you are."

Ready... a word she had never quite fully understood. Not till now.

"Yeah... Ready!" She nodded with a grin as she held her father's arm.

As they walked past the church hall, david looked at her again. "You know, it's still time to tell him he's not nearly..."

"Shut up..." She laughed.

David laughed with her. "Never mind. I kind of like the old pirate..."

...

"Are you quite sure about this, lad?" Killian said, adjusting the beautifully over embroidered long, black dinner jacket that adorned his body over the frilled shirt, pinned by a gold and silver button in the middle, boots to his knees over equally crafted trousers. "I mean, I can see myself in this, but perhaps your mother might have preferred a more... modern-looking groom."

"Not a chance." Henry shook his head side to side. "You're Captain Hook. You're a seventeenth century Ship Pirate. I really don't think any of us would feel too much at ease if you dressed like an average Joe on your wedding day."

"Average Joe?" Killian sneered.

"Mh, never mind." Henry shook his head and walked over to his soon to be stepdad. "Come down here a little bit."

The Captain agreed with a smirk and leaned over to the boy. "... and I'm not a pirate any more, young sir..."

"Well, you know that, my mom knows that and I know that, but no one outside Storybrooke knows that." He adjusted the silk handkerchief on his pocket to a fine pointy shape.

"Boy, no one outside Storybrooke even knows Storybrooke exists!" He laughed.

The young man chuckled and nodded. "There. Better."

Killian sighed and twisted his head side to side as he adjusted his jacket. "Very well, then, Henry. You have the rings?"

"Right here." The boy gave his jacket pocket a couple of light pats.

"Right. Perfect." Killian grinned, pulling out the frills on his left wrist with his right hand.

Henry sneered. "I didn't want to tell you this, ever, but..." He squinted his eyes. "That... fake hand always look kind of creepy."

The groom laughed. "You'd sooner have me wearing a hook on my wedding day, mate?"

"That would be totally AWSOME!" Henry laughed excitedly.

"Well, glad you enjoy the fantasy there, lad, because it won't be happening!" Killian winked at him. "Well, we're set." He turned to look at Henry and thought for a few seconds before speaking, his good hand on Henry's shoulder.

"I can't thank you enough, mate..."

"What for?"

"Your insight..." Killian shrugged. "The fact that you helped your mother come to her senses..."

"I always do. But it's gonna be your job now, I'm a kid, I'm supposed to be focusing in school, videogames and hot chicks."

Killian laughed. "I'm not sure your mother would handle that last topic too wisely, m'boy..."

Henry nodded. "Nope. That's the cool part about having a stepdad that was a pirate. You can help out there. I bet you have quite the curricula on that."

Touched. Deeply.

Killian reached out and pulled the boy to himself. "Won't let you down, mate... won't let you down."

"Well, well!" Came a voice from the door. "Who knew you'd clean up so well!"

Hook turned and bowed his head slightly with a mocking sneer. "Your majesty..."

"Oh, cut the protocol, Hook." Regina smiled as she dusted his shoulders. "I have to say, this... " She eyed him head to toes. "THIS is how a proper sea captain should look."

"Told ya." Henry winked.

"We've come a long way, you and I, Killian." Regina grinned as she tucked the lapel around his neck up as straight as she could make it. "Remember what I told you on the deck of your ship?"

"No happy endings for villains, how could I forget?" He replied.

"Good thing we turned that around..."

Killian grinned. "And you... Majesty?" He winked at her, his natural flirtatious self emerging as always. "Got any plans for our rogue bandit's heart's keeping? Since we're all getting so comfortable in getting along..."

Regina chuckled. "Mind your own damn business, Hook."

That brought a sincere laughing smile both from the former buccaneer and the Queen. Regina then turned to Henry and caressed the top of his head. "Go check on Emma, Henry, she's probably drowning herself in the toilet as we speak."

Henry nodded and ran out the room. Regina followed and turned back to Hook. "Sincerely... Congratulations... Killian. We made it. Seems we earned our happy endings." She nodded and grinned before leaving.

Killian smiled and nodded as he drew a deep sigh. This woman had saved him in every way any person probably could be; and it made it hard to believe that she was now such a pivotal part of his life. He wondered how he had ever managed to even breathe before he met her.

As he reached the front of the church, ooh's and aah's over his finely crafted suit were heard and he felt reassured. Seemed the kid had known better all along.

...

As the bride stepped through the hall, everyone gasped in awe... and Killian nearly keeled to his death. Internally anyways. After he regained the adequate use of his breath, a smile emerged on his lips. He held out his hand as David nodded to him in acknowledgement.

Yeah... those two were getting along, alright.

"Emma blinked and tried hard not to allow tears ruin her mascara. Killian grinned at her as she paced to his side. "All right there, Swan?"

"I'm good." She whispered.

"You look like a goddess..."

"You look like a pirate. A clean one."

He chuckled. "That would be a compliment, milady..." He led her before the altar. "So... ready for the next big adventure, love? Big leap of faith?"

She nodded. "There's no place like home. Now, let's get this done."

"Pressing engagement?"

She leaned into his ear. "A honeymoon..."

He raised his eyebrows and smiled, one wooden hand and one flesh and blood hand in hers. "As the lady wishes..."

THE END


End file.
